Found a massive error in Intel CPUs: fixing it will slow down millions of computers

The Intel 64-bits processors seem to have a serious design error that can not be solved with internal updates, so the operating systems companies are having to redesign their kernels to fix it. The embargo of the error has not yet been lifted to allow time for patching, but as The Register has learned and some developers have already reported, the necessary changes in the operating systems could slow them down considerably.

The error will affect all the large operating systems. The community is already trying to check the virtual memory system of the Linux open source kernel, while Microsoft is expected to announce a special patch with the necessary changes next week. Apple for its part will also have to make changes to its 64-bit macOS.

These updates, at least those of GNU / Linux and Windows will cause a decrease in performance on Intel products that is still being measured. Even so, the first data suggest that the slowdown could be between five and thirty percent depending on the process and the processor model. These figures may change as the updates are released.

The bug seems to be on the Intel x86-64 hardware, and it can not be fixed with updates to its microcode. Therefore there is no other solution: whether the operating systems themselves are updated, or users will have to buy a new processor without this error if they do not want to see their security compromised.

This bug affects the control between the kernel of the operating systems and the CPU of all the chips manufactured by Intel in the last decade, and causes that the Kernels can not control correctly the permissions of the applications, being able to give access to processes that do not have the necessary permits. This is extremely serious, since in the kernel of your operating system is where important data from other processes, such as access codes, are hidden for security reasons.